AVOIDING BURNOUT: SELF-CARE AND WELLNESS

Maja Bajac-Carter, Communication Studies Tanesha Walker, Counselor Education and Supervision

Objectives:

• Provide an overview of the scope of the graduate student roles and responsibilities

• Increase students’ knowledge of the importance of self-care in navigating through graduate school

• Inform graduate students of existing resources and how to utilize them

• Demonstrate a breathing exercise that students can do on their own

Quick Definitions

• “Burn-out”- Exhaustion of physical or emotional strength or motivation usually as a result of prolonged stress or frustration (Merriam-Webster, 2015)

• Self-care- “Includes any intentional actions you take to care for your physical, mental and emotional health.”

Role: Student

Responsibilities: • Attending Classes • Weekly Readings • Individual and Group Projects • Blackboard Blogs and Forums • Deadlines

Role: Scholar

Responsibilities: • Conducting research • Writing papers • Running experiments • Finding publishing opportunities • Co-authoring • Meeting publication deadlines • Preparing for the job market

Role: Graduate Assistant (GA)

Responsibilities may include: • Administrative duties

– Answering phones and emails – Clerical work – Filing

• Scheduling • Assisting with office work

Role: Teaching Assistant (TA)

Responsibilities: • Class Preparation • Syllabus • Teaching • Weekly Lesson Planning • Grading • Office Hours

Role: Research Assistant (RA)

Responsibilities: • Working on research for your professor • Helping develop research methodology • Literature review • Doing research in the lab • Experiments

Role: A Person With a Life!

• Single/Married • Children • Pets • Hobbies • Part-time/full-time job • Expenses • Non-academic responsibilities • Etc.

What is Wellness?

• "...a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity." - The World Health Organization.

• "a conscious, self-directed and evolving process of achieving full potential." - The National Wellness Institute

A Holistic Approach to Wellness

• The National Wellness Institute proposes a holistic wellness model: – Six Dimensions of

Wellness

Self-Care

• Physical Wellness – Sleep, exercise,

and nutrition – Calming the body – Healing through

movement and music

• Emotional Wellness – Tuning into your

emotion – Expressing emotion

in a healthy way – Self-reflection and

self-awareness

Self-Care • Intellectual/Cognitive

Wellness – Curiosity in ones work – Collaborating with

those from other professions

– Getting involved

• Spiritual Wellness – Religious practices – Connecting with

nature – Meditating

Self-Care • Social Wellness

– Friends and family – Peer relationships

with colleagues – Attending social

gatherings

• Occupational Wellness – Job interest and

value – Using your own

talents and skills – Job satisfaction

Useful campus resources

Student Support Services – Counseling and Human Development Center – University Health Services – Psychological Services

Recreation Options at Kent State

Student Organizations: – Center for Student Involvement – Graduate Student Senate – Gradfest – Graduate Studies – Graduate Student Social

Fitness and Wellness: – Recreation and Wellness Center

Recreation in/and around Kent

Restaurants, bars, live music, hike & bike trails, the Esplanade etc. – Downtown Kent

Yoga in Kent: – One Love Yoga Studio – Kent Yoga National Parks: – Cuyahoga Valley National Park Museums: – Cleveland Museum of Art – Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

Let’s try an exercise!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnHlB8aQp3Y

References

• Counseling and Human Development Services. (2014). Self-care. [PowerPoint slides].

• Merriam-Webster. (2015). Retrieved from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/burnout on August 10, 2015.

• National Wellness Institute: http://www.nationalwellness.org

• World Health Organization: http://www.who.int/en/

Thank you for attending GSO!

Feel free to contact us with any questions: Maja Bajac-Carter– mbajacca@kent.edu Tanesha Walker – twalke30@kent.edu